What to Think About Church Growth

I don’t know what to think about church growth anymore. I’ve always believed it’s God that causes a church to grow–and I still do. But what role does the leadership of the church play in bringing more people in? I’m afraid the answer to this question I’ve long held to is actually little more than a caricature: If it’s God that does the growing, then the pastors need only preach the Bible and sit back and wait for people to come in. If they’re faithful in this and in their handling or the Lord’s Supper and baptism, that’s really all they can or should do. I now question this belief.

Often times there’s a dichotomy in the discussion of church growth. On the one side are those who believe the only growth that really matters is the growth in sanctification of the believers in the church. On the other side there are those who only focus on growth in terms of numbers. (Do a Google search for “church growth” and you’ll find a lot of people in the latter camp.) But the problem with both of these extremes is that they miss part of the Great Commission:

[box] “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20a).[/box]

Those who focus solely on growth in sanctification ignore the “go” and the “all the nations” parts. They make certain those in their congregation are fed with great teaching and preaching, but their emphasis on evangelism and reaching out to their community may be lacking. Those who emphasize bringing more people into the church often have a clear focus on reaching the nations, starting with their community. But sometimes it’s the “make disciples” and “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” parts that don’t receive enough attention.

Between these two extremes lies something of a grey area. If we acknowledge that sanctification is important (the Bible is pretty clear about this) and that drawing people from the community into the church is important (read Acts if you question this), how should the leadership of the church go about accomplishing these objectives?

There are a myriad of church growth models out there. Should the church put a lot of resources towards a couple of big outreach events a year? Should they do more marketing? There are a number of church growth models that seek to implement strategies from the business world. Are these necessarily wrong? My knee jerk reaction in the past has been Yes, they’re wrong. But that response was driven by the belief that business strategies were designed simply to bring people in for the sake of bringing them in. In business the objective is to sell more goods and services. Customers are valued because businesses want their money. The thought of that mentality influencing the church made me nervous. But is there absolutely nothing the business world can teach the church? Yes, preaching needs to be at the center of the church. But is it wrong to strategize about how to disseminate that preaching to as many people as possible? Every business knows it’s important to have a modern and easy-to-navigate website. Most major businesses have a presence on Facebook and Twitter. Shouldn’t the church consider these avenues? Is “marketing” a church wrong if it focuses on what’s important in a church (preaching, ministries, etc.)?

To be sure, there are bad ways to grow a church in terms of attendance. That’s the danger in measuring growth by attendance. It’s easy to get more bodies into seats if you’re willing to compromise in one way or another. Avoid topics that make people uncomfortable. Create worship services that are designed to entertain. Find out what people want and give it to them. These are the types of things that Paul warned Timothy about in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For a time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teacher to suit their own passions.” Examples of this abound.

All of this to say, I’m afraid I’ve thrown the baby out with the bathwater in the past. With the compromise that has occurred at many megachurches in order for them to reach their size, there’s a hesitancy on my part when I think about church growth. I’ve finally recognized this hesitancy, but pragmatically I still don’t know what to think about church growth. What’s permissible or what should be done to grow a church and make more disciples within our communities?

4 Comments

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Great article! It really speaks to something that’s always been near to my heart, the idea of just sitting back and “letting God do the work”. I think that model does not compute with what we see in the Bible. Jesus traveled and reached out, which is what allowed God to put Him in the situations in which He needed to be. What if Paul had just sat back and let “God do the work”? Would we have the epistles to help guide us today?

Also, we saw Jesus speak the language of the people, parables using farmers and vineyards and things the people understood. Part of today’s language is Twitter and Facebook, so shouldn’t we use those as tools to spread the Gospel and help with discipleship? Paul had letters, we have Facebook.

But, in all of this (as you pointed out) the Gospel must not be compromised.

Thanks for the comment, Randy. I think social media is definitely an avenue that churches ought to pursue having a presence in. There are a number of ways it can be used to thoughtfully engage with the culture, the church’s members, and potential members. And as you alluded to, the “let go and let God” attitude isn’t the approach the Bible models.

I think preaching should impress believers in the congregation with how precious their spiritual inheritance is, and how good-Samaritan charity toward our fellow man demands that we show the world the same love that Christ showed. And what was the love he showed? His perfect love, his teaching and his miraculous signs pointed to the authority of his own person, which was headed to the Cross. Likewise, Christians should be learning to love God and take part in his mission as members of his Body, through whom (in the Spirit) he continues to convert the world. In short, preaching should make martyrs.

The Church at her best, I think, has taken no interest in aping the marketplace, but has entered the marketplace even when all others have fled to escape plague and disaster; she has taken no interest in homiletic theatre, but has held people spellbound with the power of truth crafted into the best oratory; she has taken no interest in pastors as CEOs, but has mobilized her members to establish a known presence in the human commonwealth.

If this means using Twitter and Facebook to invite outsiders to come and see how Christians worship God, or to join Christians in consultation on the local park, or to discuss how to welcome and integrate immigrants into the community, so be it.

Thanks for the response, Lue-Yee. And I fully agree. The Church, at her best, as you put it, uses the edifices of the culture with the sole intent of glorifying God, not with appearing “relevant” or “hip”.